Appreciators of Japanese music who visit TKY03 Japan Music Channel are likely to be aware of the city pop genre, which enjoys a measure of popularity outside of Japan.
"Out of Time" from The Weekend's album Dawn FM, released in January of 2022 sampled Tomoko Aran's "Midnight Pretenders" (from her 1983 album Fuyu-Kukan), which has a strong following among core city pop fans.
The Weekend "Out of Time"
This sampling of the song became a topic of conversation in Japan, and the fact that The Weekend, one of the world's most popular bands, has incorporated a city pop tune it its work is a testament to global interest in the genre.
In the past, J. Cole also included Hi-Fi Set's "Sky Restaurant" on 2014's "January 28th." In 2019, Tyler the Creator included Tatsuro Yamashita's "Fragile" on "Gone, Gone / Thank You".
J. Cole "Sky Restaurant"
Tyler the Creator "Gone, Gone / Thank You"
City pop is a genre of music that gained popularity in Japan mainly in the 1970s and 80s. It exudes a sense of urban sophistication through its AOR-like melodies, outstanding sound production, and performances by many talented musicians.
Representative artists of the genre include Tatsuro Yamashita, Mariya Takeuchi, Toshiki Kadomatsu, and Taeko Onuki. For non-Japanese people unfamiliar with the genre, it might make sense to describe it as slickly produced "Yacht Rock," akin to the sound of Christopher Cross, Michael McDonald, and Steely Dan.